Wow! I bought "The Sky's Gone Out" on vinyl when it was released back in the early-80's, and it became one of my all time favourite albums. When the group split in 1983 I personally felt that Bauhaus had not really fulfilled their potential. However, it is one of the ironies of rock music that groups such as The Doors and Bauhaus only gained their influencial reputation long after they disbanded. Bauhaus' dark rock 'n' roll spawned the "Gothic" genre, and induced an entire generation to dress in charcoal hues, darken their hair and seek out the black make-up!

It is interesting that, although the commercial success of Bauhaus has now probably been eclipsed by the group's individual projects (Love and Rockets, Tones on Tail and Peter Murphy's solo efforts), their musical legacy remains highly influential. This was evident in July 1998 when Bauhaus announced their reformation tour - the Hollywood Palladium recorded their fastest ever ticket sell-out in eight years! Similarly, I must have been one of the first punters to buy tickets in Prague.

The Lucerna Velkém Sále is not the Hollywood Palladium! It is a pseudo-baroque music hall, complete with two-tiered private boxes that face the stage and look down on the sprung dance floor that makes up the audience space. It's small, the acoustics are good, stage visibility is great, and I like the place. Debs and I arrived early, and ensconced ourselves right on the barrier in the front row. Thankfully there was no corny supporting act...instead Bauhaus made us wait for about 50 minutes!

When the show finally started it was clear that Peter Murphy is just like the rest of us - he's a little heavier than he was 15 years ago! Nevertheless it was good to see Murphy, Daniel Ash, David J and Kevin Haskins back together again, and the the old sense of brooding intimidation soon returned. To quote Melody Maker in the early 80's:

"You may not care to have the fear of God instilled in you at a gig, particularly from the band, but Bauhaus proved an exhilerating exception. Audience communication is never broached, more a sense of intimidation that immediately demands you take an interest - deeply explosive drums, throbbing basses and a never ending variety of guitar sounds which never resort to conventional methods of attack".

Bauhaus certainly revisited their past glories during their two hour set, and I lapped up every minute of it. There was almost no communication between band members and, frankly, the Love and Rockets guys seemed to alienate Peter Murphy a little. Then again, maybe he was just being his detached, anti-star self - but to me they didn't really seem to be having "fun". Nevertheless I enjoyed all the old favourites, including the two excellent cover versions, namely "Telegram Sam" (T-Rex) and "Ziggy Stardust" (David Bowie).

The end came too quickly, and Bauhaus came back for only one encore...a sinister rendition of "Bela Lugosi's Dead". Ten minutes of bliss!! The show ended on an amazing high, but far too soon!

Leaving the Lucerna I spotted the official merchandise vendor. Unfortunately no t-shirts or posters, but they were selling CD's. A real surprise was that they had a few copies of the "Bela Lugosi's Dead" CD single autographed, in silver, by all the band members! I splashed out the cash with a grin!

A fantastic evening of nostalgia, excellent music and aloof performers with some unfinished business to attend to!

More please...